


Underneath it All

by Moonllotus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Comedy, Crack, Feel-good, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Lust at First Sight, M/M, Panty Kink, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Texting, Thirsty Remus Lupin, Why Did I Write This?, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 20:25:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17515337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonllotus/pseuds/Moonllotus
Summary: “Look,” Remus turned to him. Which was a mistake. Oh Lord, it was amistake.Sirius was giving him his undivided attention. Gray eyes appearing almost silver with the sunlight hitting them. His mouth was plump and his face so sharply chiseled. He was just damn perfection, and Remus’ heart could not handle this nonsense.“I’m not going to judge you or anything. I mean, they could belong to a female companion or something. I don’t know and I don’t care.”That was all one huge lie. Remus Lupin was a dirtyliar.





	Underneath it All

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm back! Please be kind and send me kudos/comments (it's good karma after all).

 

Remus Lupin had a problem.

See, there was only one laundry room in his building, ie: the basement. There were two units available to use for washing and drying, and one set was broken and probably never going to be repaired. Which left one unit that the occupants had to divide their time using. Typically this wasn’t an issue.

There were only eight apartments in the building, it wasn’t huge. Remus lived on the ground floor in 1A, across from him were Marlene and Dorcas in 1B. Peter and Mary lived in 2A, Benjy lived in 2B, Severus in 3A, old man Slughorn in 3B, Gideon and Emmeline in 4A, and finally Sirius in 4B.  

Occasionally Slughorn had his grandchildren, or Gideon had his nephews or niece, or Sirius had his Godson. But children were rare in the building, which Remus preferred since he worked from home and enjoyed the eerie silence that being alone in the quiet could offer.

Back to the task at hand.

Remus had a  _massive_  problem. Said problem took the form of tiny lace black panties which had somehow ended up with his laundry.

He stared at them with wide eyes.

They were  _not_  his.

He had a feeling he knew who they belonged to, and it made it so much worse. So. Much. Worse. The last person to use the shitty laundry room had been Sirius. Remus knew this because he saw Sirius leaving with a neatly folded laundry in a basket under his arm. He had nodded at Remus before walking up the four flights to his own apartment.

It wasn’t until Remus was back in the safety of his home, a bag of clean laundry poured onto the floor of his bedroom to be folded or hung up, did he spy the tiny lace underthings.

They were so tiny.

They were pure lace.

He was honestly terrified about touching them. Least he breaks or damages them. They were so skimpy.

There was a possibility that they belonged to Sirius’ girlfriend. Though that couldn’t be right, Remus prided himself on his stellar gaydar and Sirius was  _not_  straight.

Which was terrible because Remus wasn’t either. He was attracted to Sirius, very attracted. His dreams that starred his neighbor were usually wet, not that a person could blame Remus for it. After all, Sirius Black was pure sex. He had long muscular legs, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long black hair that fell to his collar, bright gray eyes, and a face that seemed almost chiseled by Raphael himself. He was taller than Remus by a few inches and had a voice that was so deep and baritone that it caused gooseflesh to appear on Remus’ body whenever he heard it.

Oh God, if Sirius wore women’s panties Remus would die. It’d be a lovely last thought before his heart gave out.

If this tiny black lace garment truly belonged to Sirius, what was Remus going to do? Did he return them? Did he throw them away? Could he leave them in a box or something outside of Sirius’ door and let it be?

What if they didn’t belong to Sirius? Then Remus was at risk of coming across as a panty thief! Which he wasn’t, he so wasn’t.

He was, for lack of better words, a bit of a nervous wreck. Honestly, how did one go about this sort of thing? This was not helping with his anxiety.

If they did belong to Sirius, would he come down to Remus’ apartment and ask for them back? Oh, dear Lord, that sounded  _worse_  than Remus willingly returning them.

He worried his lower lip as he thought. Tugging uselessly on his caramel colored curls and narrowed his large caramel colored eyes on his pile of laundry. The clothes weren’t going to fold themselves. He had made it his New Year's resolution to always put his laundry away directly after washing them. He had an issue with keeping clean clothes in the hamper and dirty clothes on the floor. At thirty-one that was just a little unacceptable.

One thing at a time.

Firstly, put away the clothes.

Secondly, figure out what to do for dinner.

Thirdly, do  _not_  fantasize about Sirius wearing such a tiny piece of fabric. Oh, it probably didn’t even fit his cock.  His cock was probably as beautiful as the rest of him. Sirius in tiny lace black panties that would ride a little up his glorious ass, and barely cup his balls and - ugh, that was not the point of the list Remus!

Remus sighed as he stood on his toes to put his folded jeans on the top shelf his closet. He wasn’t a large man. Barely 5’9” and was a bit narrow all over, or “lithe” as he liked to call himself. He supposed that he’d be categorized as a “twink” (despite being thirty-one damn it). Wide eyes, freckled button nose, and pert mouth and curly hair did not help Remus’ cause. At least he’d age well.

Once his mental list was complete and dinner was ordered. Remus turned to stare back at the panties. The bane of his existence. They sat neatly on his coffee table because he wasn’t sure where else to put them.

Instead, he took out his phone and texted his best friend.

* * *

**Remus** [17:09]: SOS

 **Lily** [17:09]: ?

 **Remus** [17:10]: I found my neighbors panties in my laundry and idk what to do.

 **Lily** [17:11]: …return them?

 **Remus** [17:11]: My neighbor is a man.

 **Lily** [17:12]: Kinky. Return them.

 **Remus** [17:13]: I don’t think I can. Omg, it’s too embarrassing.

 **Lily** [17:14]: It’ll be worse for him.

 **Remus** [17:14]: Somehow, I doubt that.

* * *

Lily was useless.

Remus groaned as the buzzer rang for his door and he quickly allowed the delivery person in and paid them a hefty tip before taking the bag of Indian food back to his kitchen.

He ate dinner and then took a shower. In his joggers and a tight band shirt that he should really throw away, he stared at the panties again. He could always throw them away. It wouldn't be fair though, Sirius spent money on these. They looked expensive. Well, he imagined they were expensive. Women's undergarments weren't exactly something that Remus knew much about.

Instead of second-guessing, he grabbed the panties, balled them up in his hand, and put his feet into a pair of sliders. His hair was still damp from his shower and his shirt clung to him around the chest and back. Remus tried to ignore the nervous butterflies that were erupting in his stomach as he walked the four flights towards Sirius' apartment. He was a man on a mission! Once on the top landing, he wheezed and leaned against the railing, trying to calm his racing heart. He was so out of shape.

Licking his lips, he gathered all his courage and knocked on Sirius’ door.

"I swear to God Snape if you're bitching about my dog again," Sirius began but stopped once he opened the door fully and stared. "Oh. Hello."

Fucking Sirius with his stupidly attractive face and his stupidly sexy voice.

There was a snuffling noise near his thigh, and Remus noticed that Sirius had his body blocking the door frame to prevent a massive bear of a dog from escaping. That didn’t stop the dog from sniffing and whining pathetically.

“Er, hello," Remus greeted. He shuffled his feet as he felt his face heat up. He probably looked like a child, all freckles and ears red with embarrassment. “Um. I just came to return these to you? They were in my laundry. Er…if they’re not yours then I’ll just throw them out, only they look expensive.” Oh, sweet baby Jesus he was rambling. Shut up Remus, shut up!

Sirius caught the black lace thing that Remus practically flung at him. “Oh. Er, yes Thank you.” His pale high cheekbones stained a light pink.

“Right, yes, you’re welcome!” Remus squeaked. “Have a good evening!”

He fled.

 

* * *

It was the first time Remus had left his apartment in nearly two days, and it was to get his mail from the boxes in the foyer of the building. He did not think he’d run into anyone, least of all the man he had been hoping to avoid.

“Hey.” Sirius was wearing basketball shorts, a tight t-shirt, and running shoes. His hair was up in a bun and he smelled of sweat and outside air.  On a lead beside him, panting heavily, was his behemoth of a dog.

Christ on a cracker, even sweaty and in work-out clothes he looked fucking amazing. Some people just got all the good genetics.

Remus wasn’t sure if he hated him for it or if he should ask what type of underwear he was wearing. Honestly, Remus couldn’t get the image of Sirius in lingerie out of his perverted mind and he had a feeling that it showed.

“Hello,” Remus responded, very careful to not keep eye contact for too long as he stuck the key into his mailbox and retrieved what was sure to be an abundance of bills. Oh, and what looked to be a paycheck from his publisher. Nice.

Sirius shifted as he grabbed his own mail. The dog sat patiently by his feet, sniffing at Remus’ thigh curiously but overall being a very good dog. “About the other day—”

"Look," Remus turned to him. Which was a mistake? Oh Lord, it was a mistake. Sirius was giving him his undivided attention. Gray eyes appearing almost silver with the sunlight hitting them directly from the window above their building's door. His mouth was so plump and his face so sharply chiseled. Remus' gay heart could not handle this nonsense. "I'm not going to judge you or anything. I mean, they could belong to a female companion or something. I don't know and I don't care."

That was all one huge lie. Remus Lupin was a dirty  _liar_.

Not only did he care, but he touched himself multiple times to the mere thought of it in the last several days. He actually didn’t get much work done, and his editor was going to murder him dead if he couldn’t produce five chapters by next week.

Sirius shifted, the apples of his cheeks becoming that pretty pink that was so attractive. Unexplainably, it made Remus want to lick him.

“Okay,” Sirius nodded, “right.”

If he was taking them out that Remus had given him, Remus would be eternally grateful. As it were, this was too awkward for someone as reclusive as Remus.

“Right,” Remus nodded. More to himself than to the taller man beside him. “I should go and start dinner.”

Read order Chinese food.

“Oh! Yeah,” Sirius shuffled on his feet nervously and played with the lead that was in his hands before blurting out. “We should hang out sometime. Er…that is…yeah.”

“We should?” Remus felt his own face begin to heat, and he was grateful for the fact that his skin was very brown and therefore it was not visible on his cheeks. Although his ears were known to turn red. “I mean, uh… I mean—”

“We’ve been neighbors for like two years now, yeah?” Sirius was petting his dog’s head, very carefully avoiding eye contact.

Two years? Had they really been living in the same building for that long? Remus hadn't noticed Sirius until about eight months ago. Then again he tended to live in his own head and had been so busy writing his popular young adult fiction series _Deathly Hallows_  to notice much else.

But holy fuck.

Sirius  _noticed_  him.

Yeah, Remus’ ears were on fire. He could feel it.

“Has it been that long?” He found himself asking.

Okay, Remus, you can do this! Chat this bloke up, he's fit as hell and obviously was looking for an excuse to have a conversation with you. It's been a four-year dry spell Lupin, prove to yourself that you can still pull at thirty-one. Especially someone as fucking stunning as this man before you.

Sirius smiled down at his dog and it made Remus’ insides warm.

It should be illegal to be that attractive.  _And_  he had a dog? That was just a level of extra that Remus could never hope to reach.

“Yeah,” Sirius’ face was still in that bloody smile that left Remus feeling gooey, he was shining it directly at Remus now and it was too much. “I think this is the first conversation that we’ve ever had.”

“Ah, that’s probably on me. I’m usually lost in my own head,” Remus shrugged. And then winced because that made him sound a little like a lunatic. He wasn’t! Well, maybe a little bit? How did one explain that their imagination was key to their income? “I’m a writer, I’m usually focused on characters and plot.”

“That’s interesting, have I heard of anything you’ve written?” Sirius asked while casually leaning his hip to the side, his posture relaxed and cool.

“Probably,” Remus shrugged, “my work is popular among preteens.”

“What a coincidence,” Sirius chuckled to himself, “I teach preteens. I’m a grade seven English teacher.”

Well fuck. Sirius Black was just checking off all of Remus’ little boxes. Hot, smart, taught English, had a dog, worked out? Check, check, check, check and check.

"Ah, so you've probably heard of R.J Wolfe." Remus smiled nervously. He never did public appearances, despite his publisher hounding him for a book signing. He knew that with the release of the next novel of the installment that he would need to do a signing. It didn't mean that he was looking forward to it.

Sirius’ eyes widened a bit in recognition. “As a matter a fact, my Godson is a massive fan of _Deathly Hallows_. I’ve read it, of course, my students are all obsessed and I wanted to stay in the loop. You’re not having me on, are you?”

“No,” Remus shrugged and ran a hand through his curls. Tugging at the hair on the back of his skull. “I’m not.”

“Wow,” Sirius’ smile widened, “that’s amazing! You’re really talented Remus.”

He seemed genuine with his enthusiasm. And damn it all the way he said Remus’ name.

“Thank you,” Remus managed to say without stuttering.

The dog beside Sirius suddenly wuffed pathetically. A whine escaping the back of its throat.

“Ah,” Sirius startled, “Sorry. Snuffles is probably starving. As you can see he’s been wasting away to skin and bones while we’ve been talking.”

Snuffles gave Remus a soulful look. All large watery eyes and doggy pleading. He looked more like a small bear than a dog, to be frank.

“Snuffles?” Remus repeated, feeling his mouth tug into a smile without his say so. Damn his face, why couldn’t he be one of those stoic men that he’s read so much about? But from the looks of Sirius, he wasn’t that way either.

"Ah, yeah." Sirius shrugged. "Anyway, you should come over on Friday night. Do you play games? We could play Smash Bros or something. Order some pizza or whatever you like."

“Oh, uh, yeah. Friday sounds good.”

Friday sounded horrible. How was Remus supposed to live with the anticipation?

“Good,” Sirius gave him another one of those beaming smiles, “come ‘round six.”

“Okay,” Remus moved to allow man and dog to walk by. Admiring the way the basketball shorts clung to Sirius’ bottom as he took the stairs two at a time towards the fourth floor.

It wasn’t until later, after he had ordered his dinner and sat behind his open laptop did Remus allow the entire conversation to sink in.

* * *

**Remus** [18:54]: I think I was just asked out?

 **Lily** [18:54]: Yaaaaaasss!!!!

 **Lily** [18:54]: Details!

 **Remus** [18:55]: The panty neighbor asked me to have dinner with him on Friday. There may also be video games involved.

 **Lily** [18:57]: Netflix and chill?

 **Remus** [18:58]: I have no idea.

 **Lily** [18:58]: Isn’t he hot?

 **Remus** [18:59]: So hot.

 **Lily** [19:00]: Get it in Lupin!

 **Remus** [19:01]: But there will be video games?

 **Lily** [19:01]: Then it’s just hanging out? Either way, go have fun! You’re always stuck at home.

* * *

Lily was right about that.

Remus munched on his Orange Chicken thoughtfully. And then blinked, realizing the gayest thought ever passed through his mind.

What the fuck was he going to wear? He had a few days to figure it out.

* * *

**Lily** [17:52]: Happy Friday! IT’S ALMOST TIME!!!

 **Remus** [17:53]: I’m aware!

 **Lily** [17:53]: Have you decided what to wear?

 **Remus** [17:54]: I’m not that gay Lily. I don’t freak out about what I’m going to wear.

* * *

Remus Lupin was  _totally_  freaking out.

He had put on a button-down shirt before shrugging it off. He had changed his pants at least three times. Now it was nearly six in the evening and he was pacing his bedroom in his underwear, yanking at his curls. At least he had showered and shaved. Eventually, he just growled at his reflection. What the fuck was wrong with you, Lupin? Nut up!

He threw on a black t-shirt that was just snug enough, a baggy green cardigan with elbow patches, and a pair of ripped jeans that made his ass look phenomenal. He put on a pair of brown boat shoes and called it a day. There, casual, comfortable, and easy to take off. What? Remus was not against a little naked action tonight.  He had to make sure he was good enough to eat. He gave himself a wicked grin as he applied just a dash of his lightest cologne, and boy did he look  _good_. He was a pure snack.

He grabbed the six-pack of beer that he had bought to bring with him. Sirius suggested pizza, and nothing went better with it than beer. Except for ice cream.

Damn, actually, pizza with beer and then ice cream for dessert sounded too amazing. He wondered if Sirius would be up to leaving the apartment to get some fro-yo later. Or maybe not, the man did work all day, and there had to have been a reason he suggested a night in rather than one out. 

With a shrug, he locked his apartment and began the walk up towards the top floor.

By the time Remus stopped wheezing and managed to calm down his heart, he was exactly on time. Punctuality was a rare occurrence for him, and he was probably only able to be on time because they lived in the same building. He licked his lips and shifted nervously for a moment. He took in the surroundings of the top level of the building. Same wooden floors that made up the rest of it, a door just across the hall, a window right before the stairs. The smell of dust heavy in the air.

Nothing unusual.

Let’s do this!

With a thundering heart, he knocked on the door.

A moment later Sirius opened it with a wide smile on his handsome face. “You’re right on time.”

His hair was damp and in a sloppy bun which left tendrils of black framing his jaw. He was in a tight diesel shirt that stretched enticingly over his wide chest. The acid washed jeans looked painted on and on his feet were black work boots. Remus gulped.

“You said six,” Remus allowed a charming smile to take over his face. He could do this! It’s been years since he’s flirted, and sure he was a little rusty, but he could do this!

Sirius moved to let him in. Thanking him for the beer, stating that the pizza had just got there.

"No Snuffles?" Remus asks as he takes the apartment in. It's the exact same layout as his own, only flipped. With walls a deep red where Remus' was white. Furniture dark and rich, leather and wood. Masculine and minimal and clean. It smelled of cinnamon and spice. It was easy to see Sirius living in such a space.

“Ah,” Sirius gave Remus a bashful smile. “He’s at my best friend’s house. Lily, my friends’ wife, offered to take him for the weekend to give me a break.”

No. It couldn’t be. That had to be a coincidence. There was no way that she was this much of an evil mastermind.

"Lily?" Remus tilted his head questioningly, "Lily Potter?"

"Yeah, you know her? Well, that'd make sense since she works for a publishing house." Sirius nodded to himself as he offered Remus a seat on the couch. The pizza boxes were on the low coffee table. "Do you drink your beer in a glass?"

“No, the bottle’s fine,” Remus answered, although his mind was whirling. He gave Sirius a look, trying to decipher the man before him. Did Sirius realize? “So does that mean that your Godson, the boy who plays with Prewett’s brood, is that Harry?”

“Yeah,” Sirius nodded, “I’m assuming that you’re good friends with her? If you know Harry.”

"And James," Remus nodded. He cracked open his beer and took a long pull. What the ever loving fuck? When he finally brought the bottle away from his mouth he offered Sirius another once over. God damn, he was hot. "I think we've been set up."

Sirius had been reaching for a slice of pizza and paused.

“What do you mean?” He asked slowly. The confusion on his face was too damn endearing. “Wait.  _Lily_?”

“Oh yes, Lily.”

Lily fucking Potter.

Sirius’ bark of laughter spurred on Remus' own. And soon they were a giggling mess of limbs on the couch. Their thighs were pressed against each other and their elbows kept knocking. By the time they had calmed, Sirius shook his head.

“That bint is nosy as fuck,” He shrugged. He offered Remus a slice of bacon pizza, which he gladly accepted. “Honestly, I’ve been trying to chat you up for a year.”

Remus felt his stomach erupt into butterflies and his ears turn red. “Oh?”

A year? A whole  _year_?  _What_?

Sirius shrugged and smiled sheepishly, “yeah. I mean, have you seen you?”

“Have  _you_  seen  _you_?” Remus bit back. He beamed as Sirius’ face flushed pink. “You’re so pretty.”

“Thanks, that’s what I wanted to hear.” Sirius shook his head and took a large bite of pizza.

“So,” Remus began casually after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Honestly, how was he so comfortable around Sirius? Still awkward and shy, sure, but he didn’t mind being so close to him. He liked him actually, now that they were getting to talk to each other. Now that they were finally on the same page. Remus was a little obtuse when it came to romance and getting hit on, but now that he realized what was going on he was on board.

“Yeah?” Sirius asked, leaning back and looking like perfection.

Remus leered at him knowingly, “when do I get to see you in panties?”

Sirius sputtered, having been in the middle of taking a swig of beer. “I don’t put out on the first date. I’m a classy lady.”

* * *

**Remus** [07:45]: You’re evil.

 **Lily** [07:47]: I’ve been trying to set you two up for years!

 **Lily** [07:50]: It ended well?

 **Remus** [07:51]: I haven’t left his bed.

 **Lily** [07:55]: Good ending to the night?

 **Remus** [07:56]: Good beginning to something more. We’ve another date set up for Sunday. Brunch at a Dog café.

 **Remus** [07:57]: Thank you, Lily. From both of us.

 **Lily** [08:00]: You’re welcome. I expect to be your best man when you two marry.

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you like my fics and want more feel free to follow me on **[tumblr](https://moonllotus.tumblr.com/)** , there is a shit ton of Wolfstar content on there.


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